"or would you chose a surgeon who had picked up a medical book and read through it after his shift at Burger King?"
Gee, Paul preached after making tents all day. My father worked the third shift in a factory and took no salary while pastoring a church for 30 years so that the offerings would go towards the ministry. He educated two lawyers, two school teachers, a pastor and a family therapist and served in the Peace Corps and started his last church at age 80. I think I'll stick with the one who has real life experiences as well as a heart for the Lord than a cloistered theologian. Bunyan the tinker and Carey the cobbler come readily to mind.
Wow. What a tremendous family; what a gift from God. You really should write a book. The world needs to hear how healthy, happy, productive, righteous families live and grow and flourish, by the grace of God.
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." -- Ecclesiastes 12:13
As that old Romanist himself, William Buckley, once said, the key to life is gratitude. It puts everything into perspective and orients us correctly -- towards Jesus Christ alone.